The Time Before
by RyansDreamMaker
Summary: Miles loves being a Marine. There's never any question of what to do, you stick to protocols and follow orders. Unfortunately, raising a teenage girl isn't quite so simple. Kids don't come with instruction manuals. One-shot series. Prequel to The Time That Follows.
1. Disciplinary Action

A/N These one-shots are just alternate options that I wrote for flashbacks in The Time That Follows. If you haven't read it, all you really need to know is that Miles and Rachel were married and had Charlie, after they divorced, Rachel married Ben and had Danny. And of course Bass is always hanging around. :-) Enjoy!

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**Disciplinary Action**

**Charlie is fourteen years old.**

"You have got to be kidding." Charlie stared up at her father with disbelief written all over her face.

"Does this look like a joke to you, Charlie?" Miles asked, as he stood in front of her holding a blue toothbrush.

"Dad, come on, it's not even that bad-"

"Not that bad? Charlie, this is going to be on your permanent record, colleges are going to see this when you apply. Getting suspended for getting into a fight on your first day of high school, doesn't exactly make you look good." He sighed, shaking his head and held the toothbrush out to her again.

Charlie had never heard her dad sound so serious in her life. The only thing that had ever come close to this, was the lecture he had given her on gun safety when she moved in with him when she was eleven. Hoping that her signature puppy dog eyes would do the trick, she looked up at him and pouted. "Daddy, I'm sorry, I-"

"Oh, uh-uh. Don't make that face at me. You do the crime, you do the time." Miles pushed the toothbrush into her hands. "Now go. I wanna be able to see my reflection when you're done."

Charlie huffed angrily as she went into the bathroom and got down on her hands and knees in front of the toilet. She pulled the small bucket of bleach water towards her and got to work. Miles watched her for a moment, trying really hard to stick to the punishment he had set while his baby girl slaved over a dirty toilet.

'You do the crime, you do the time' he reminded himself. If he had been caught fighting the first day of school his dad would have made him lick the toilet clean. He was being lenient by Matheson standards. Miles went to the kitchen to grab a much needed beer and was shutting the refrigerator door when the front door opened and his best friend came into view. He silently handed over the beer he hadn't even had a chance to open yet and grabbed himself another one, taking a long drink.

Miles had nearly gulped down half of the beer before Bass asked, "where's Charlie, doing homework already?"

Miles merely grunted in response and gestured towards the bathroom. Bass raised an eyebrow questioningly before making the short walk to stand in the open doorway of the bathroom. "Oh... hey, Charlie... whatcha doin'?" Miles didn't need to see his daughter's face to know that she was glaring at Bass, she did however remain unusually silent.

Bass turned back to look at him with wide eyes and Miles gestured towards the sliding glass doors that led out onto the back patio. As soon as the door slid shut behind them, Bass started rambling off questions one right after the other. "What's going on? Why is Charlie cleaning the toilet? Why do you look like an angry rhino? And why the hell is she using a toothbrush?"

Miles collapsed into one of the deck chairs with a groan and downed what was left of his beer. Looking up at his friend, he replied flatly, "she got into a fight at school. They suspended her for a week."

Bass let out a low whistle and plopped down into the chair next to him. "On the first day? Jeez, even me and you weren't that bad." Miles nodded his agreement. "I take it the toothbrush was the best thing you could come up with."

Miles decided to ignore the slightly teasing tone in his friends' voice in favor of snatching the beer held loosely in his hand, and taking a sip. "Grounding her is useless, she spends most of her time at the house anyway, so... that was the next best thing."

Chuckling, Bass said, "dude, you are just like your dad."

"Shut up, dick." He punched Bass' shoulder as the sliding glass door opened and Charlie stepped out onto the deck.

"I'm done." She stood with her arms crossed over her chest and her head held high.

"You were only in there for like five minutes. I told you, I want it to shine. Get back to work."

"Dad, this stupid he started it!"

"I don't care who-"

"Whoa, wait a sec," Bass stopped them both by jumping up from his seat. "He? You got into a fight with a boy?"

Charlie scrunched up her face, as if remembering something that had only happened a few hours ago was difficult. "Not exactly."

Bass looked from Charlie to Miles, and back to Charlie. "What does that mean?"

She looked at her father and he nodded, telling that it was alright to tell the story. Charlie huffed and sat down in Bass' vacated chair, he then proceeded to usher her out of it so he could sit down and she sat on the edge of the armrest facing him.

"This guy came up to me in hallway and started talking to me right after my first class. I didn't even know who he was, I just knew that he was a junior and he was hot, so I flirted with him. Then during lunch this girl, who I've never even seen before in my life, came up to my table and was like," at this point Charlie stood up, mimicking the girl's high pitched voice, " 'you better stay away from my man you little skank or I'll rip your freakin' hair out'. And I was just sitting there looking at her because I had no idea what she was even talking about.

"So then she gets all mad, 'cause she thought I was playing dumb and was like, 'bitch, I know you hear me.' " Charlie stopped and looked at Bass very seriously. "I don't like it when people call me that, but I ignored her, like Dad told me I was supposed to." Looking pointedly at her father, she succeeded in making him look a little guilty before continuing. "I guess she didn't like it when I ignored her, so she grabbed my hair and pulled me out of my seat."

Bass looked between Charlie and Miles with shock on his face. "Seriously?"

Charlie looked like she wanted to smile, but seemed to think better of it because she knew her dad was still angry. "Yup."

Bass looked at her carefully, sending Miles a quick sideways glance. "You kicked her ass, right?"

"Bass!" Miles shouted over Charlie's laughter, glaring at his best friend before looking back at his daughter. "Go back inside Charlie, I know you're not done with that toilet yet." The smile fell from her face and she made her way slowly back into the house, muttering to herself as she went.

Once the door was closed, Miles looked at Bass, who was grinning at him. "She kicked her ass, right?"

Miles slumped back in his seat, trying to hide the smile forming on his lips before finally giving in. "Hell yeah, she did. They had to take the girl to the hospital, she needed six stitches in her cheek."

Bass let out another low whistle, "Nice, just like her old man."

Miles couldn't have hiden his proud smile even if he tried.


	2. Estimated Time of Arrival

**Estimated Time of Arrival**

**Charlie is fifteen years old.**

Bass pulled into the parking lot at the baseball field, finding it completely empty except for the familiar blonde haired girl sitting on the sidewalk. He stopped in front of her and popped the trunk, she threw her duffle bag in the trunk and got in the front seat.

"Hey, Bass." Charlie's usually happy face was downcast and her voice was soft. Bass hated seeing her like this, and knowing that Rachel had caused it just added insult to injury.

"Practice is over at 5, it's almost 6:30, Charlie, why did you wait so long to call?" He knew that asking her a bunch of questions right now would only upset her more, but she had just sat in a parking lot, by herself, for over an hour. That wasn't exactly safe.

Charlie looked out the window towards the field. "I guess I just thought that she'd remember and come get me."

Bass cursed her sorry excuse for a mother and asked, "did you try calling her?"

"It went straight to voicemail."

Of course it did. Damn Rachel. But instead of saying that out loud, he asked, "where's Ben, why didn't he come get you?"

"He's in New York on a business trip, he won't be back for another two weeks." The poor girl was stuck with no one but her mother and sickly little brother for company, and there was nothing Bass could do about it.

Miles was away for work again. He had left six weeks ago and wasn't due back for another eight. Poor Charlie was stuck staying with her mom and Uncle Ben until her dad came back.

"I hate staying with them. It's usually not so bad with Uncle Ben there, but my mom is a total nut job. I'm not allowed to go outside, I'm not allowed to watch TV, and she only makes that nasty vegan food because she claims that it's the only stuff safe for Danny to eat." By the end of Charlie's rant, her cheeks were flushed and her blue eyes were blazing with anger. "It's like she expects me to sit inside and read all day!"

Now one of Miles' rules was that they weren't allowed to talk badly about Rachel in front of Charlie, but in this case, Bass felt like his friend might make an exception. "Look, your mom has always been a little... off, but it's not for that much longer. Your dad will be home before you know it, and then you can go back to eating McDonald's and mini-pizzas all you want."

Charlie gave him a faint smile, toying with the 'M' necklace he had given her around her neck. "I know, but 54 days is so long. Almost two months!" Her voice got soft, "I just want him to come home."

Bass pulled her into a hug, as best as he could while they sat in the car. "I know, I miss him too."

She pullled back and smiled up at him, "you know, you could always get me McDonald's on the way back to my mom's house."

"If your mom finds out she's gonna kill me."

"Oh, come on, Bass," Charlie gave him her best puppy dog eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to say no, "pretty please?"

Sighing, because he knew he hadn't stood a chance from the moment he got her text message about needing a ride, he put the car in drive and headed to the nearest fast food restaurant.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she was practically squealing in the passenger seat. "I promise I will love you forever."

Bass scoffed. "Yeah, well if Rachel finds out 'forever' might not be that long."

Chuckling, Charlie rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, what's she gonna do, talk you to death?" They both laughed, and Bass had to admit that he was glad she had texted him. Without Miles in town he hadn't had anyone to hang out with, so he was just as eager to get out of his lonely house as Charlie was to get out of Rachel's stuffy one.

"I'll tell you what, we'll eat inside and then I'll take you home. How's that sound?"

Charlie grinned at him, showing off the cute little dimple in her cheek. "That sounds perfect," she leaned over and kissed his cheek, "thanks, 'Bastian."

"Your welcome, Charlotte."


	3. Father-Daughter Bonding

**Father-Daughter Bonding**

**Charlie is eleven years old.**

Charlie was watching with amusement as her father tried to decide whether he wanted Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Pebbles. They were at the grocery store for what seemed like the twentieth time this week, but it was really only the third. Even then, three trips in one week was way to many. Her dad always blamed it on Bass, saying that the man hardly ever bought groceries himself, he just came over to their house and ate theirs.

She had moved in with her dad a little over a month ago, and so far, she loved it. Living with her dad was so different than her mom and Uncle Ben's house. Her dad never seemed to get annoyed by her hanging around the house, he always smiled when she came into the room, he had even redecorated her bedroom to celebrate the occasion. Basically, it was nice to feel like someone actually wanted her around.

"Dad, why don't you just get both?"

Miles turned to look at his daughter, then back at the boxes of cereal in his hands with a slight frown. "Oh, good idea."

Charlie rolled her eyes as her dad put both boxes of cereal in the cart and continued on down the aisle as if he hadn't just spent ten minutes debating whether he wanted fruity or chocolate cereal. She was trying really hard not to get too annoyed with him, she had asked if she could come along after all. But she had only asked because she was bored just sitting at the house, and since he insisted on debating every single thing, her nerves were on edge.

"I gotta pee." Charlie waited for him to acknowledge that she had spoken, but he merely grunted while he scrutinized the back of a box of instant rice. She rolled her eyes as she walked away, hearing his mumbled 'come right back' when she made it to the end of the aisle. Since she didn't actually have to pee, but knew her dad would notice if she hadn't washed her hands (yes, he was weird like that), Charlie headed off to the bathroom.

Once in the restroom, she decided she may as well go while she was there. Her dad could spend hours in the grocery store, and having to take two bathroom breaks would be suspicious. Sitting down on the questionablely clean surface she glanced down and noticed the trickle of red in her underwear. Great.

After rolling up some toilet paper and sticking it in her undwear, she zipped up and washed her hands. Charlie made her way to the opposite side of the store. Finding the aisle she needed, she picked out a package of pads and went to find her dad.

Miles was in the produce section, carefully selecting each orange that he dropped into the plastic bag. Charlie tossed the package into the cart, her father's eyes following it and staring when it landed on top of a box of macaroni and cheese.

"What are those?" He asked stupidly, as he pointed at the blue and green stripped bundle.

Charlie felt her face grow hot, she hadn't been having her period for very long, and she hadn't realized that her dad didn't even know about it yet. Trying to act nonchalant about it, she answered, "what do they look like?"

His eyes moved from her to the package, and back to her, realization finally dawning on him. "Oh," he said weakly, "so, uh... when did... _that_ start?" Miles could tell by the look on his daughter's face that she was a little embarrassed, so he was trying not to make a big deal out of it, but that was easier said than done.

"I don't know, I think it was just after Christmas." She was playing with a string hanging from the bottom of her old t-shirt, avoiding his eyes.

He nodded, his lips pulled in a tight line. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Charlie merely shrugged in response, even she was unsure of why she hadn't told him.

Suddenly feeling a little panicked, Miles asked, "but, your mom knows about it right? I mean... you guys, like, talked... and stuff."

Charlie's head snapped up and her wide eyes found his. "Yeah, we talked."

Sighing with relief, he huffed a laugh. "Good, then I don't need to..."

"No! Mom told me everything. It's fine, you don't have to say anything."

Miles scratched his head awkwardly. "She told you _everything_?"

Charlie groaned loudly and pressed a hand over her eyes. "Yes. She was... very thorough, and... scientific."

Now Miles could feel his own face heating up with embarrassment. "Oh." They were both quiet for a minute, avoiding each other's eyes. Finally, Miles couldn't stand the awkward silence anymore. "Well, since all of that's taken care of, I'm going to go back to pretending that your still five and I think that you should go back to letting me think that."

Charlie giggled and smiled sweetly up at him. "Ok, Daddy."

Rolling his eyes, Miles pulled her into a hug, whispering into her hair. "Love you, baby girl."

Wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly, Charlie whispered back, "love you too, Daddy."

If anyone in the produce aisle thought that having a father-daughter moment right then and there was strange, well, they kept their comments to themselves.

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A/N Yesterday it was warm and sunny, then overnight it decided to snow, lol. So I get the day off, and decided to post number 3! Hope you liked it, thanks for reading. :-)


	4. Dress Code

**Dress Code**

**Charlie is twelve years old.**

Roaming around the local mall was probably Miles' least favorite thing to do. Right up there next to doing laundry and dealing with his ex, Rachel. But school would be starting soon, this would be Charlie's first year in school while living with him, and he was determined to make school shopping as enjoyable as humanly possible. Which basically meant that he had forced Bass to come with him while they shopped for his twelve year old daughter.

Charlie walked ahead of them as they weaved in and out of the crowd of people, occasionally stopping to admire something in a display window before setting off again. Miles tried not to grumble too much while he ate the pretzel, fresh from the pretzel stand, that Charlie had insisted he needed. She must have known how unenjoyable his day was about to be for him.

Wandering into a shop with a brightly colored sign, she immediately went to the first thing she saw. A green halter top with a lacey back. "Oh, hell no. I'll be dead before you're ever allowed to wear anything like that."

"Oh my God, Dad, I was just looking. Jeez." Rolling her eyes, she wandered further into the store. Miles and Bass hung out near the entrance, keeping an eye on her blonde head as it wandered from rack to rack looking at clothes.

She finally found her way back to them, her arms bulging with jeans, t-shirts, and an excessive number of what looked like brightly colored tights. "Charlie, honey... that's a lot of stuff. I thought we talked about your budget before we left."

Rolling her eyes yet again, he really needed to talk to her about that, she sighed. "Yes, Dad, we talked about budget. I'm not planning on actually getting all of this stuff, I just need some help sorting out what I want and what I don't. And for your information, most of this stuff came off of the clearance rack, that way I can get more stuff for the same amount of money." She gave him a look that clearly said she thought he should have realized this.

"Clearance racks?" Bass asked, "man, you are just like Miles."

Holding her head high, Charlie shoved her giant bundle of clothes into Bass' hands and started sorting through the clothes. "Being a responsible shopper is a good thing. Why should I pay fifty dollars for something when I can get the exact same thing off the clearance rack for five dollars?"

Miles watched proudly as his daughter lectured his best friend on the importance of smart money habits while she sorted the massive heap of clothes in his arms. She eventually decided to make him hold the things she was definitely getting, a few pairs of jeans and a couple t-shirts with pictures on them. She sorted the rest of the stuff into two categories; the 'maybe' pile and the 'only if I say pretty please' pile.

Looking at the things in the 'pretty please' pile, Miles privately thought that it would have been more appropriately named the 'no way in hell' pile. There were a few tank tops that he didn't like because the straps were too thin, as well as a pair of jean shorts that were _way_ to short for his daughter to be wearing.

After spending nearly an hour in the store, Charlie had narrowed it down to three pairs of jeans, five shirts, and two pairs of leggings that she promised to wear with a skirt or a dress, because wearing them by themselves as pants was completely unacceptable as far as he was concerned. Turning to the 'pretty please' pile, she shoved all of the clothes unceremoniously onto a nearly empty shelf, but stopped short, picking up the pair of jean shorts again.

"No," Miles said firmly, because he knew if he didn't, she'd have him saying yes in less than thirty seconds. She was his baby girl after all.

"Daddy, come on, they aren't even that short!" She whined.

Man, he hated when she did that. Charlie always made a point to call him Daddy whenever she wanted something. She must have known that he missed when she was little and called him Daddy just because it was what she called him back then.

"No way. Look at those things. You'd look like a hooker!" He pointed at the offending shorts and motioned for her to put them back, "now come on, honey, we still have to get shoes, a backpack, and school supplies. We have a lot to do today." Miles was clearly trying to distract her with other things in order to take her attention from the shorts, but Charlie wasn't hearing any of it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Dad, I'm twelve, not four! These aren't even short compared to what the other girls wear."

"Well the other girls aren't my daughter, so I don't care about them, I'm talking about you." Miles gave her a look that said the discussion was over, but Charlie was just as stubborn as he was.

"This is stupid!" She turned to Bass desperately, "tell him Bass, there is nothing wrong with these shorts."

Now privately, Bass felt that Miles was being a bit ridiculous. Looking at the shorts, he figured that they would probably reach just about Charlie's knees, which would leave her plenty covered. However, if he sided with Miles on the issue, they would have to deal with a pissed off Charlie for the rest of the day. And if he sided with Charlie, Miles would be forced to buy the shorts, and then he would never hear the end of it. So either way, this didn't end well for him.

"Uh... I'm gonna go get a slushy." Fleeing the store quickly, Bass headed in the direction of the food court.

Recognizing defeat, Charlie set the shorts back down on the shelf and silently took the pile of clothes they were buying from her father. Miles watched her downcast face and felt his resolve breaking.

They weren't that bad, right? It wouldn't hurt to buy her the shorts.

Groaning internally, he picked up the shorts and caught up with his daughter, dropping them on top of her pile while they stood in line to check out. Charlie didn't say anything, she merely turned to give him one of her big smiles, teeth flashing and little dimple showing, Miles should have known he hadn't stood a chance from the moment they stepped into the store.

As they left the shop, they found Bass leaning against the wall outside, sipping a blue slushy. Charlie went over to him with a smile and snatched the cup out of his hand to take a drink. Handing Bass her bags and taking his drink, she set off in the direction of the shoe store, her smile still firmly in place.

Bass grinned over at Miles. "You caved, didn't you."

Rolling his eyes, Miles set off after Charlie. "Shut up, dick."

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A/N Thanks so much for reading guys, and a huge thank you to those of you who have taken the time to review. Up next, the Monroe family funeral. It's sad, but I think you guys will like it. :-)


	5. Saying Goodbye

**Saying Goodbye**

**Charlie is three years old.**

Bass was sitting in the front pew of the small church in Jasper, wearing and old suit he had found in the back of his dad's closet. The dress shoes he was wearing were his dad's too, along with the striped tie around his neck and the gold watch on his wrist.

He could hear Miles in the entryway, saying goodbye to people and thanking them for coming. His friend was also acting as a buffer so that people wouldn't bother him. Bass didn't want to talk to anyone right now, he didn't think he could even if he wanted too.

Four caskets, two white, one purple, and the last one pink. His parents, Angela, and Cynthia. His baby sisters. Tears pooled in his eyes and he slumped forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands, his shoulders shook with the grief pressing in on all sides.

Sitting up, Bass attempted to stem the flow of snot coming from his nose, but was distracted by the tiny blonde toddler that came running into the room. Her curls had been tamed to a level of presentable and there was a velvet, black bow fixed on her head. The tiny black dress she was wearing was covered in glitter with a white ribbon around her waist. White tights and shiny, black shoes completed her outfit. Bass had to hand it to Miles, the man didn't have much fashion sense for himself, but when it came to dressing his little princess, he spared no detail.

Bass watched little Charlie bounce up and down in front of the caskets like she was trying to see what was inside them. He grabbed her from behind and she squealed, coming to rest on his hip and wrapping her little arms around his neck while she giggled.

They were standing in front of Angela's casket, her typically happy face looking dull and lifeless. He watched Charlie look down at his sister's body, a frown wrinkling her tiny forehead. Pressing a finger to her lips, she turned to him, "shhh, Angie's sleepin'."

Choking on a sob, Bass gave her a watery smile. "Yeah, she's sleeping."

"Why are you cryin', 'Bastian?" Charlie's big, blue eyes were staring up at him and he couldn't help but melt. The girl had had him wrapped around her finger from the moment Miles had let him hold her in the hospital the day she was born.

Tucking one of her stray curls back behind her ear, he said, "I'll be alright, Charlotte, don't worry about me."

"You want me to kiss it and make it all better? That's what Daddy does." She nodded knowingly and Bass had to hold in a laugh. The image of Miles, the big bad Marine, kissing a boo-boo to make it all better was hilarious.

"Nah, I'm a big boy, I'll be ok." He kissed her gently on the head, smelling the strawberry detangler shampoo his mom had recommended to Miles, and started to put her down, but she held tighter to his jacket and looked back at Angie.

"Can we wake Angie up now? I wanna play."

Bass fought back his tears as he looked down at the little girl. "Not right now, ok? How about me and you go find something to play with?"

As Charlie nodded happily, Bass walked away from the boxes that held the remains of the only family he had. Once in the entryway, he found Miles ushering the last of the people out of the door. Miles smiled grimly at him, but it turned into a genuine smile when Charlie jumped out of Bass' arms and into his. "Hey, baby girl, you ready to go home?"

She grinned up at him, "uh-huh, 'Bastian said we can play."

Miles turned back to Bass, "come on, man. Let's go home." With Charlie in one arm and the other wrapped around Bass' shoulders, Miles led them out into the parking lot and to his car. Buckling his seatbelt, Bass turned and watched Miles strap Charlie into her carseat.

They may not be his blood, but they were his family.

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A/N Thanks for reading! So this is the last one that I had typed already, but I have a whole list of other one's just waiting to written. Next on the list is 15 year old Charlie brings her new boyfriend to the 4th of July bbq, or I can do 18 year old Charlie gets arrested and calls Bass to pick her up. Any preferences?


	6. A Call for Help

**A Call for Help**

**Charlie is eighteen years old.**

Bass took the steps up into the local precinct two at a time. His job with the security firm meant that he frequently had to work with the police department, so he walked right up to the desk clerk and said, "hey, Jack, I'm here to pick up Charlotte Matheson."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, they said she had called you. Hang on, let me call Kruger." Bass listened in while Jack called downstairs, "yeah, Monroe's here, go ahead and bring her up." The man hung up the phone tiredly before saying, "she barely registered at .01, and she was in the backseat, so no one's planning on charging her with anything."

Bass heaved a sigh of relief just as Kruger came around the corner, leading a very tired and and worn looking Charlie. She gave him a weak smile, causing him to notice her swollen and split lower lip. He reached out and cupped her cheeks, running his thumb under the swollen flesh. Charlie winced and pulled back from him and he let her go, asking quietly, "are you alright, are you hurt anywhere else?"

Charlie shook her head. The obvious concern for her well being in Bass' eyes making her feel even worse than she already did. "Ok," he said gently, "let's get you home."

She let Bass lead her out to his car with a hand on her back and kept quiet. Angry she had expected, but his unusual silence was weighing her already guilty mind, down even more.

When they got to the car, he opened her door for her and waited for her to get in. Charlie stopped with her hand on top of the door, looking up at his solemn face from underneath her lashes. "Why aren't you mad?"

Blowing out a breath, Bass leaned against the door. "I am mad, Charlie, but right now, I'm just happy that you're safe. When you called and said you were in an accident, I thought you were really hurt."

"I'm sorry, Bass. I didn't think that-"

"You're right, you weren't thinking," he said, suddenly looking angry, "because if you had been thinking, you wouldn't have ever gotten into that car to begin with. How many times have I told you, if you need a ride all you have to do is call me. Why would you get into a car with someone who had been drinking? That's so stupid and dangerous, and you could have been killed."

Charlie looked down at the ground, the emotion in Bass' voice pushing even more guilt into her heart. She didn't remember his family, but her dad had told her about the car accident that had killed them. For as long as she could remember, Bass' only rule had ever been, don't drive drunk. And she broke it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Bass moved around the door and pulled her into a hug. She could feel him smelling her hair and squeezing her tightly, as if to reassure himself that she was safe. It made her feel even worse, knowing how worried he was about losing her.

They drove home in silence. When Bass made to get out of the car, Charlie stopped him. "Wait, Bass-"

"Charlie, I hope you didn't think that calling me meant that your dad wasn't going to find out, because-"

"No, no, no," she waved him off like the thought had never even crossed her mind, which it honestly hadn't. "But I want to be the one to tell him. And I was kinda hoping you'd let me wait until morning, you know, instead of waking him up at three in the morning." She bit her lip nervously, silently pleading with him with her sparkling, blue eyes.

Bass slumped back into his seat. "Alright, but you have to tell him first thing, and if you don't, I will."

"First thing, I promise." Leaning forward, she kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for coming to get me Bass." He nodded and watched her as she got out of the car, making sure she was safely inside before pulling out of the driveway and heading home.

Charlie slipped quietly into the house, listening for her father's loud snores in order to verify that he was asleep. Slipping into the bathroom, she stripped out of her dirty clothes and got in the shower. She tip-toed to her bedroom and pulled on a pair of clean underwear and an overlarge shirt. She wasn't sure if it was her dad's or Bass' shirt, both of their hand-me-downs seemed to always find a place in her dresser.

She laid in the dark, staring up at the ceiling in her bedroom, willing herself to go to sleep. But it just wouldn't come. Her mind kept playing the nights events over, and over again, each time making the knot in her stomach twist a little harder. She had really screwed up, and her dad was going to be so disappointed. When she finally couldn't stand it anymore, she crept down the hall to her father's bedroom and slipped inside.

Miles was laying on his back, with one arm dangling off the side of the bed and the other covering his face. His snores echoing through the room with each rise and fall of his chest.

Charlie moved to the empty side of the bed, feeling like a little girl again as she gently sat down next to her father's sleeping form. She bit her bottom lip worriedly. If she woke him up now, then he'd be mad about the accident and getting woken up. But if she waited until morning he'd be mad about the accident and the fact that she waited to tell him.

She sat there for a while, debating which way would be best, when the universe decided for her. Miles rolled towards her, mumbling incoherently as his arm landed in her lap. His eyes immediately opened and he looked up at the person sitting in his bed with confusion on his face.

"Hey, Daddy," Charlie whispered.

Miles immediately sat up, she never called him that unless she wanted something or something was wrong, and judging by the fact that it was still dark outside, the second one was most likely.

"What's wrong, honey?" He asked while he absent mindedly scratched at his neck and bare chest.

Charlie thought her words over carefully while she picked at her nails in her lap. Miles took her chin in his hand and pulled her face up in order to meet her eyes. "Charlie, what's... honey, what happend to your lip?"

Charlie covered her face with her hands, speaking in a muffled voice. "I'm so sorry, Daddy, I screwed up. It was so stupid, please don't hate me."

Confused, Miles pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. "I'm not gonna hate you, sweetheart. But you're worrying me, what the hell happened?"

Sniffling and still cradled in her dad's arms, she told him everything that had happened that night. "I went to that party with Lauren, remember I told you I was gonna be home late?" She felt him nod and continued. "Well, we met these two guys, Dylan and Heath, they were cool, so we all hung out for a while. The boys got hungry and so we decided to go to the gas station to get some snacks. I only had one beer, I swear, but they had both had a lot to drink. I offered to drive, but Dylan said he didn't want a girl driving his car."

At that point, Miles sighed, "please tell me that you didn't go with them."

"I knew it was stupid," she sniffed, "but Lauren really wanted to go with them. On our way to the gas station, Dylan T-boned this other car going through the intersection. Nobody was hurt, but when the cops showed up they gave us all breathalyzer tests, and then they searched Dylan's car. They found this huge bag full of ecstasy under the passengers seat."

Charlie pulled back to look at her dad's face. "I swear, I had no idea it was there. But the cops took us all in to the precinct anyway."

Miles stared down at his daughter in shock. "How the hell did you get home?"

She hesitated for a moment before admitting, "Bass picked me up."

Her dad sighed and ran a hand over his tired face. He leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. "You're not hurt or anything are you, do I need to take you to the hospital?" He started looking her over as best as he could while they were both sitting down, still in the dark.

"I'm fine, Dad. Bass checked me over before we even left the precinct."

Miles nodded for a moment, then he flopped back on the bed and rolled over onto his stomach. Charlie waited a moment.

Where was the yelling, the anger?

"Dad?"

"What?" He groaned.

"That's it?" She asked, "aren't you gonna yell at me, or anything?"

He didn't move, but mumbled into his pillow, "I thought you said that Bass picked you up."

Not really understanding, she said, "yeah, so... "

Miles turned his head to look at his daughter. "Well then I'm pretty sure that whatever he said to you was plenty." He sat up again and looked at her carefully. "Am I right? We won't be doing this again?"

Charlie shook her head, remembering the scared look on Bass' face when he had laid eyes on her swollen lip and how he had checked her over for injuries. "No. Never."

"Good," he said softly, "then can I go back to bed now?"

Charlie giggled as he fell face first back onto the mattress, his loud snores starting back up again almost immediately. She watched him for a moment before laying down next to him, burrowing under the covers.

"Goodnight, Daddy," she whispered.

He mumbled back, "g'night."

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A/N I was going to have Charlie get into some big trouble here, but ultimately I decided that it went against her character, especially the way I've written her in this series. I took advantage of another snow day to do some writing, so I hope you guys like this! And I will be doing Charlie brings her boyfriend to the bbq for the next one. :-)


	7. Not-So-Warm Welcomes

**Not-So-Warm Welcomes**

**Charlie is sixteen years old.**

"Promise me that you guys will be nice."

Miles and Bass looked at each other, then back at Charlie.

"No," they said in unison.

Charlie stared up at the boys with a pleading expression on her face. "Ethan's really nice, you guys will like him if you just give him a chance."

"I doubt it." Danny's voice came from behind them as he and Uncle Ben came into the backyard. No one seemed the least bit surprised that Rachel had decided not to attend the fourth of July, barbecue that Miles held for the family every year.

"Hey, bud." Miles gave his nephew a pat on the shoulder and asked, "why do you doubt that I'm going to like him?"

Danny made a pained sort of face. "Because the guy's a total douche-"

"Danny!" Ben scolded his son for his choice of words, but the fourteen year old merely rolled his eyes.

"Well he is! He's a football player, so all the girls like him, and he knows it."

"Shut up, Danny, you don't even know him-" Charlie started to say, but Danny interrupted her.

"Oh, but I know _of_ him, and that's bad enough."

Charlie growled at her little brother just as their guest came around the corner of the house. The kid looked about sixteen or seventeen, he was wearing jeans and a football t-shirt. He was tall and muscular, and grinned as soon as he saw Charlie.

"Ethan!" Charlie shouted happily, as she all but bounced over to him. She took his hand and pulled him over to where the men stood.

"This I my dad, Miles; My uncle, Ben; and my dad's friend, Bass." She pointed to each of the men in turn before indicating her brother, "and you know Danny, right?"

Ethan smiled and nodded at Danny, "hey, man, what's up?"

Danny's only response was to glare at him. Getting the picture, Ethan turned to Miles with a hand outstretched, "it's nice to meet you, Mr. Matheson."

Charlie glared at her dad, daring him to be mean, so he put on his best menacing smile and shook the kids hand. "Yeah, Charlie's told me all about you." He squeezed the kids hand a little harder than necessary, succeeding in making him look a little afraid, but stopped when he saw the frown on his daughter's face.

Luckily, the boy was saved by the sliding glass door opening and closing, as Jeremy came out onto the back patio. "Come on," Charlie grabbed Ethan's arm, "that's Jeremy."

The four guys watched the two of them as they chatted with Jeremy. Bass broke the silence by saying, "I don't like him."

"Told you," Danny added.

"I don't know," Ben said slowly, "he kind of reminds me of what you and Bass were like when you guys were that age."

Miles' eyes went wide as he groaned up at the sky.

"What's wrong, Miles?" Ben asked.

"If that kid is anything like we were, then we're all in for some serious shit."

"Damn," Bass frowned over at the boy who currently had his hand on Charlie's back, much too close to her butt for his liking. He looked over at Miles, "do you think anyone would notice if he went missing?"

Miles looked thoughtful for a moment before Danny pitched in. "He lives with his dad, who works a lot, so you guys might have some time to work with."

"Alright," Miles said, "Danny, you go distract Charlie. Bass, go get the duct tape out of the garage. I'll handle the kid." He glared in Ethan's direction.

"You guys are kidding, right?" Ben asked nervously, though judging by the dead serious looks on Miles, Bass, and Danny's faces, they weren't. "Ok, you know what? No. You two," he pointed at Miles and Bass, "can do whatever you want, but you are not involving my son in premeditated murder."

"Dad!" Danny whined. "She's my _sister_." He said it like he thought that it was a perfect excuse for killing someone.

Realizing that he stood absolutely no chance against the angry mob of over-protective men in Charlie's life, Ben walked away, not wanting any part in their scheming.

"Yeah, it's easy for you," Miles called after him, "you got a boy!"

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A/N Thanks for reading everybody! I hope you like this one! :-)


	8. Family First

A/N Just an FYI, this one makes Rachel seem like a total bitch, so if you like Rachel, I'm sorry (not really ;-)). But if you don't like her, well, this will probably make you like her even less (if that's even humanly possible :-)). On a completely different note, I only have two more chapters in mind for this, so if anyone has an idea or a suggestion, I'd be glad to hear it!

* * *

**Family First**

**Charlie is four years old.**

Bass couldn't focus on his food. His date was wearing a low cut, black dress that hugged her body so tightly that she may as well have been walking around naked. And man, he couldn't wait to get her naked. Judging by the looks she was giving him, she couldn't wait either.

Duncan had dark hair, green eyes, and her lips pulled into a tight, little smirk. She was beautiful and challanging, and damn, he really wanted to get her naked.

Her sultry voice took a moment to sink into his sex addled brain. "Bass, are you even listening?"

Tearing his eyes away from her tempting cleavage, he answered, "yeah, that sounds awesome."

One arched eyebrow told him that had been the wrong answer. Luckily, he was saved by his cell phone ringing. Bass pulled it out of his pocket quickly in order to silence it without looking to see who it was. "Sorry," he gave her his best charming smile, "forgot to put it on vibrate."

The smile seemed to be working on her, but the phone started ringing again, effectively ruining it. Bass looked down at the screen. It was Miles, who knew he was on a date, and Bass had specifically told him he didn't want to be bothered. He knew his brother wouldn't be interrupting if it wasn't important, he wasn't that much of a dick.

Knowing that he was already in the hole just because the phone was ringing, Bass figured that answering it couldn't make things much worse. "Sorry, it's my brother, I gotta get this." Without waiting for a reply, he hurried from the table and out the door of the small restaurant, into the cool summer night.

"Dude, this better be important."

" 'Bastian?" The tiny voice on the other end of the phone was immediately recognizable as Charlie's.

"Charlotte, what are you doing on the phone? Where's your dad?" Charlie sniffled, making Bass go from irrated to worried in no time. "Charlie, what's wrong?"

She hiccuped, and said, "Daddy won't get up to play with me."

Relief flooded through him, Charlie was fine, she just wanted somebody to play with her.

Bass tried to reason with the little girl, "is he watching TV? You know Daddy doesn't like to play when he's watching TV."

"No, Daddy's sleepin'."

Sleeping? Bass checked his watch, it was only a little after eight, why was Miles sleeping? And for that matter, why was Charlie still awake? Bedtime was at 7:30, even he knew that.

"Well, wake Daddy up and tell him it's past your bedtime," he told her.

"I tried, Daddy won't wake up, he just keeps layin' on the floor!"

Panic grabbed as Bass' heart, latching on and taking control. "He's laying on the floor, where at?" He asked quickly.

"He's layin' on the floor in front of the potty."

Shit.

"Ok, Charlie, listen to me," he waited for her to say 'uh-huh' before continuing, "I want you to hang up the phone and call 9-1-1, just like Daddy showed you, do you remember?"

"Yep," she answered proudly, "I gotta press the green button, and then the nine, and then the one, and then I gotta press one again."

Bass smiled in spite of the situation, Miles always prepped for everything. "Good job, Charlotte, now hang up, and do that for me. I'll be at your house in five minutes, alright?"

Charlie sniffled again, this time a little less, before saying, "ok, 9-1-1." Then the line went dead.

Bass ran from the front of the restaurant all the way to his car parked down the street. As he jumped in and put the keys in the ignition, it occurred to him that leaving Duncan at the restaurant by herself was definitely no way to get laid, but he didn't care. Family alway came first.

As he pulled onto Miles' street, his heart plummeted into his stomach. Red and yellow ambulance lights were flashing from the driveway. He jumped out of the car and ran up the steps only to be met by a guy pushing a gurney with his unconscious best friend laying on it. The other technician came just behind them, fighting off a seriously pissed off four year old.

"Leave my daddy alone! Let him go! 'Bastian's gonna get you!" The little girl was punching and kicking the poor guy while he tried to hold her at arms length.

Bass snatched her up and pulled her tightly to his chest, trying to soothe her. "Hey, hey, it's ok, I'm here now."

Charlie looked up at him, fat tears running down her chubby cheeks. " 'Bastian, you gotta get him, he's taking Daddy!"

The technician that had been fighting her off looked at him. "Sir, do you know this man?"

Without hesitating, Bass answered, "yeah, he's my brother. What's wrong with him?"

"We're not sure, we'll get him to the hospital and let the doctors figure it out." The man moved to help his friend lift Miles into the back of the ambulance.

Charlie buried her face in his neck, he could feel tears and snot, slimy on his skin. "Where are they taking Daddy?" She mumbled.

Rubbing her back soothingly, he said, "they're gonna take him to the hospital, so the doctors can help make him better." The ambulance drove away, their sirens blaring.

Bass ran into the house, grabbing Miles' keys off of the table in the hallway, and taking Charlie's shoes as well. He quickly locked the door behind him and ran to Miles' car. "Alright Charlie, get in your seat and buckle up, we need to go." She nodded quickly, and he jumped into the front seat, turning around to make sure she was strapped in before driving to the hospital.

The drive to the hospital was torture. They got stuck at every single red light on the way there, and Bass had to remind himself several times of the speed limit, as well as the toddler in the backseat.

When they finally pulled into the parking lot, he rushed around to Charlie's door and quickly put her shoes on before picking her up and all but running into the hospital. The woman at the reception desk directed them to the emergency waiting room and he sat down. Charlie cuddled up into his lap, tear tracks still visible on her cheeks as she yawned. He pulled her close, murmuring soothing words while he pulled out his phone to call Ben.

It went straight to voicemail, so Bass left him a message telling him that he had Charlie and to come straight to the hospital. He called Rachel as well, and wasn't the least bit surprised when it went to her voicemail. He may hate the woman, but she still needed to know what was going on, so he left her a message too.

It only took a matter of minutes for Charlie to fall asleep, her head cradled on his shoulder and her warm breaths tickling his neck. Bass hugged her closer to him. If anything happened to Miles, she would be the only person left in the world that actually gave a damn about him. And if anything happened to Miles, that meant Rachel would make sure he never saw Charlie again.

About an hour later, Ben and Rachel came rushing into the ER with a sleeping Danny in Rachel's arms. She quickly handed the two year old off to Ben and snatched Charlie off of his lap. The little girl groaned loudly and waved her arms wildly in Bass' direction. "No... want... 'Bastian."

Rachel quickly quieted her daughter, "shhhh, it's ok, Baby, Mommy's here." Charlie mumbled something incoherent and fell asleep again as soon as her head hit Rachel's shoulder.

Her angry eyes turned his way, and she whisper-shouted, "what the hell is going on? What were you two morons doing that landed him in the hospital? And you drug Charlie into it, I can't believe-"

"Rachel!" Ben put a hand on his wife's shoulder to calm her down, having noticed the panic on Bass' face. He turned to him, "Bass, what happened?"

"I honestly don't know. I was out on a date when Charlie called me. She was crying, she told me that Miles was sleeping on the floor in the bathroom and wouldn't wake up. So I told her to hang up and call 9-1-1. When I got to his house they were already there, I didn't really get to see Miles, I just know that he was unconscious."

Ben closed his eyes looking worried and sat down, moving Danny to his lap. "How long has it been?"

He shook his head. "I called you guys as soon as I got here. That was about an hour ago, no one has come out yet."

Rachel huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well I don't have time to wait. We have a big meeting first thing and the kids need to sleep." She readjusted Charlie in her arms and turned to Ben, "come on, let's get them home."

Ben frowned at his wife. "You should take the kids home, honey, I'm gonna stay here. " Rachel scoffed at him, looking mortally offended. "Are you serious? Ben, we have to meet with The Depart-"

"I know who we're meeting with," Ben growled, "but my brother is in the hospital. I'm staying."

Rachel fumed, glaring daggers at her husband. "Fine." She set Charlie down on her feet and the little girl swayed as she opened her eyes slowly. "Sweetheart, Mommy has to carry Danny, so I need you to walk, alright?"

"Where are we goin'?" Charlie asked.

"We're gonna go home now, so-"

"No!" Charlie's scream caught the attention of some of the other people in the room who were anxiously awaiting news as well. "I'm staying with 'Bastian, we gotta wait for Daddy!" She ran over and threw herself into Bass' arms, turning to glare at her mother.

Rachel's eyes went wide with shock and anger before she managed to pull herself under control, her face becoming carefully blank. Without so much as glancing at Charlie or Bass again, she turned to her husband. "I'm taking my son home," and then she left without even looking back.

Charlie crawled back into Bass' lap and he let her snuggle into his chest. It was almost eleven o'clock now, way past her bedtime, so he wasn't surprised when she fell right back to sleep. He leaned his head against the wall behind him, trying to keep the fear and panic at bay, but images of his parents and sisters lifeless bodies kept creeping in.

"Hey," Ben's soft voice broke the silence, "Miles is tough, he'll be ok." Bass nodded mutely, trying to hide the single tear that slipped down his cheek.

Around one o'clock in the morning, a doctor finally came out to talk to them. The woman explained that Miles' appendix had ruptured, but that they had been able to fix everything up and that he should be able to go home in a few days. Bass and Ben looked at each other, relief written all over their faces. Bass shook Charlie awake, causing the little girl to whine softly, " I sleepin'..."

Chuckling, Bass whispered in her ear, "your daddy's gonna be ok."

She sat straight up, her eyes wide, looking from left to right as if she expected Miles to appear out of no where. "Where is he?" She turned her head to the doctor and jumped off of his lap, "did you fix my daddy? Where is he?"

The doctor smiled down at her. "Yes, I fixed your daddy. I can take you to see him too, but you have to promise me that you'll be super-duper quiet 'cause he's really sleepy." Charlie nodded her head quickly up and down, and held her lips shut tight. The doctor waved for the three of them to follow her and said, "he's been asking about his daughter since he woke up," she looked down at Charlie, "I can see the resemblance."

Bass and Ben both laughed as she led them down the hallway, and into Miles' room. Ben entered first, just ahead of Bass and Charlie, but as soon as Ben's head was through the door he heard Miles ask, "Ben, where's Charlie?"

Charlie somehow managed to restrain herself from jumping up and down, and screaming, but she did call out to him as she ran to the side of his bed. "Daddy!" They could see the relief on Miles' face, he had probably been worried about Charlie being left by herself, but before he even got to say anything, Charlie was telling him all about how she had used the phone all by herself.

Miles just let her talk. Her little mind was spewing information faster than his drug addled brain could absorb it, so he settled himself by stroking her hair while she went on, and on about her adventurous night. When she had finally talked herself out, she leaned sleepily against the bed. Bass lifted her up and said, "I think it's time for you and Uncle Ben to go home."

She started to whine, but Miles stopped her. "No, honey, Bass is right. You go home with Uncle Ben and I'll see you later, ok?"

Charlie pouted a little bit, but nodded. Bass leaned her down to Miles' level and she gave him a big, sloppy kiss. "Love you, Daddy."

Miles smiled up at his baby girl. "I love you too, Charlie."

Ben patted Miles on the shoulder and took Charlie from Bass. Once they were gone, Bass turned to him. "You scared me brother."

"Sorry, man, I really thought that I had just eaten something bad, you know? I just..." he trailed off, closing his eyes for a second, "I'm just glad you were there to get Charlie."

Bass chuckled. "Oh, she would have been just fine without me. She nearly killed that guy with the ambulance, she thought they were trying to kidnap you."

Miles laughed but it turned into a hiss as he grabbed his side where his stitches were. Not one for complaining, he didn't say anything about it. "I'm sorry about your date."

"Yeah, well," Bass shrugged, "family first, right?"

Miles nodded. "Damn straight."


	9. Can I?

**Can I...?**

**Charlie is thirteen years old.**

Charlie plopped down on the couch and looked over at her father. "Hey, Daddy, can I-"

"No," Miles answered flatly, not moving his eyes from the television screen.

"But you don't even know what I was going to say."

Miles sighed, looking over at his daughter. "But I do know that whatever you were going to say was something I wouldn't like, which is why you called me Daddy." He swiveled his head back to the screen and said, "whatever it is, the answer is no."

Charlie glared at the side of her father's head, then at Bass who was currently trying not to laugh. She forged on, knowing that the initial approach never worked on her dad anyway. "Can I get my tongue pierced?"

Beer sprayed from Miles' lips while Bass choked on a handful of M&amp;M's. "What?"

Charlie leaned forward in her seat, all dignity forgotten as she begged. "Please, Daddy? Please, please, please!"

Miles' eyes were as round as dinner plates. "Hell no, you can't get your tongue pierced!"

"But, Jamie said-"

"I don't care what Jamie said. You're Charlie, and Charlie does not, and will not ever have her tongue pierced." Miles was using his deadly 'I'm the boss' voice, which only served to make her angry.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Charlie said, "well, when I turn eighteen you won't be able to stop me. I'll be able to do whatever I want."

Miles stared at his baby girl, the anger dissipating to be replaced by concern. "Honey, why do you even want it? I mean, they stick a needle through your tongue. It hurts."

"I know that," she snapped, "but Jamie got her tongue pierced, so why can't I?"

Miles and Bass gave each other matching confused looks, but Bass was the one to voice what they were both thinking. "Charlie," he said slowly, "who's Jamie?"

She rolled her eyes like she thought it was a stupid question. "She's on the varsity softball team, and she has a car."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Miles got up from his chair and sat down on the couch, pulling Charlie close and kissing the top of her head. "Honey, clearly Jamie is older, so-"

"Yeah, she's sixteen! And everybody loves her." The obvious envy Charlie had for the older girl wasn't lost on the two men.

"Exactly, Charlie. She's sixteen and you're still just a kid," Bass tried to reason.

She stiffened. "I am not a child, I'm thirteen."

Bass put his hands up in mock surrender. "I know, I know, I'm just saying that there's a big difference between you and her."

"Obviously," Charlie said, looking slightly dejected. "All the boys love her and none of them even want to talk to me." She stared at her hands in her lap, fiddling with the hem of her softball t-shirt.

Miles and Bass looked at each other. One one hand, Miles was glad that boys wanted nothing to do with his daughter, but he also understood that Charlie was dealing more with her own insecurities than actual boys. Bass raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking him what he was going to do. Miles gave him a little shake of his head, letting his friend know that he had no clue how to proceed with what was likely going to be an awkward conversation.

Bass rolled his eyes at his helpless friend before turning his attention to the teenage girl befoe him. "Listen, Charlotte. Boys are... stupid. Especially sixteen year old boys, which by the way are too old for you anyway, their minds are really only focused on one thing." Charlie raised a questioning eyebrow and he gave her a significant look, hoping that he wouldn't actually have to say it out loud.

She quickly furrowed her brow and squirmed on the couch. "Ew, Bass."

Both men blew out breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Bass smiled at her. "Exactly, Charlie. Don't go trying to impress stupid, older boys. It's not worth it. Someday, some lucky guy will love you exactly the way you are. Hole-less tongue and all."

Charlie met his eyes shyly. "Really?"

Miles chuckled, a low and affectionate sound from deep in his chest as he squeezed her to him, kissing her head. Bass gave her one of his winning smiles, "someday, Charlotte. I promise."

Charlie smiled brightly at him and turned to giver her father a kiss on the cheek. She jumped up from the couch and said, "I'm gonna go call Lauren and tell her it's a no-go on the piercing."

Miles and Bass watched her go, Miles punching his friend's arm once she was out of sight. "Nice save."

Bass winked at him. "Oh, you know me. I've got a way with the ladies."

Miles raised his eyebrows at him. "Yeah, it just better not be on that one," he pointed in the direction Charlie had disappeared just as she came back into the living room with her cell phone plastered to her ear.

"Hey, Daddy, can I dye my hair?"

Miles fell back against the couch, groaning at the ceiling while Bass roared with laughter.

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A/N I did this really quick during my lunch break, so apologies for any mistakes. Thanks for reading! :-)


	10. Bigger and Better Things

**Charlie is 15 years old.**

Charlie turned the knob quietly and pushed open the front door slowly in an attempt to sneak into the house without being spotted. With the door shut silently behind her, she tip toed through the kitchen and into the living room. Her dad was reclining in his chair watching baseball with Bass sitting directly across from him. She raised a finger to her lips to tell Bass to keep quiet, his only response being the slight lift of his lips. Moving quietly behind the couch, Charlie almost made it into the hallway before Miles' voice sounded through the room.

"Bring it here, let's see it." The commanding tone leaving absolutely no room for argument.

Charlie slouched her shoulders and sighed. "How long did you know I was there?"

"Heard the car door close outside." He put his hand out to her, palm up, and looked at her expectantly. She rolled her eyes, ignoring Bass' chuckle, and dug around in her bag for the object of Miles' curiosity.

She handed over the envelope and said, "just remember that it's only the progress report. I still have nine weeks to bring them up before report cards come out."

Miles grunted noncommittally as he opened the envelope. "Ok, we've got an A in Algebra-"

Bass snorted, "surprise, surprise."

Miles continued as if there had been no interruption, "B in Biology, B in English, A in Phys Ed, an A in Art, and a-" he stopped and sighed, pursing his lips. "And a D in American History." He turned to look at her with disappointment etched on his face.

Charlie shrugged her shoulders, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. "What?" She asked uncomfortably, "it doesn't matter, nobody likes History anyway."

"I loved History," Bass added unhelpfully.

Charlie glared at him before turning back to her dad, "see? My point exactly."

"Charlie..." Miles' voice was full of warning, both of them ignoring Bass' mumbled, "I'm not, nobody."

"Honey, this isn't about whether or not you like the subject, it's about getting good grades."

"Dad, I tried-"

"Well you didn't try hard enough then, because you and I both know that you can do better than this." He waved the progress report around in front of her.

"Oh my God, it's just one class. Sorry that I can't be perfect, little, straight-A Danny." She turned on her heel and started to stomp of towards her bedroom.

Miles got up from his chair with a sigh. This had become a frequent conversation for them lately, Charlie was constantly comparing herself to her much smarter younger brother that had skipped a grade and would be entering high school next year. "Honey, I don't care about Danny," at her skeptical look he amended, "I mean that I don't care about his grades. And I don't expect you to be perfect, I just want you to do the best you can, and I know that this isn't it." He waved the paper in front of her face again, tilting his head sideways to try and get her to look at him. When she finally gave in he smiled down at her and asked, "so how do you plan on bringing this grade up?"

"Well," she said slowly, "there's this huge paper due..."

"When?"

She bit her lip. "Friday."

Miles blinked at her. "Tomorrow is Friday."

"I know."

He sighed with relief. "Good, so how much do you have done?" Charlie mumbled something incoherent. "Huh?"

"None," she winced as if bracing for impact.

Miles looked down at her, fully prepared to yell until he couldn't anymore, but at the last moment decided against it. "Well then you better go get started."

Charlie looked up at him in shock. "Uh... ok." She turned and grabbed her bag, heading towards her room, but stopped and backtracked a bit to stand in front of Bass. "Hey, you wanna help me write a paper about the Civil War?"

Bass didn't even get the chance to respond before Miles yelled, "no, Bass will not do you homework for you!"

Charlie turned to him with pouty lips. "But Daddy, Bass is full of worthless Civil War crap. I could get the paper done in like half the time!" Miles didn't even respond, he simply pointed in the direction of her bedroom, his eyes back on the TV.

She huffed and stomped all the way to her room, slamming the door shut just as Bass grumbled, "it's not worthless crap."

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A/N So we've finally reached the end of this adventure, I'm sorry it took so long, I just got busy with other things. I just want to thank you guys for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing. You guys truly are awesome!


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